Who is Willie Virgile Brigitte? Willie Virgile Brigitte is a 35-year-old French national who, according to French radio station Europe 1, was born on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, but later in life converted to Islam and relocated to Paris. The station said that Brigitte preferred to be called Abderrahman.

Why might Western intelligence services be interested in Brigitte? Radio station Europe said that Brigitte had, after September 11, 2001, been asked to go to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban. There he allegedly became involved with Al Qaeda-linked militants who put him in Punjab valley training camps.

What other training was Brigitte allegedly involved in? A French official - speaking to Agence France Presse on the condition of anonymity - said on October 27 that Brigitte used Fontainbleu Forest outside Paris to help train fighters for Afghanistan.

Why were the Australian authorities suspicious of Willie Virgile Brigitte? Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said France warned Australian authorities on September 22 that Brigitte had trained with terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan and was now living in Australia. On October 7, it increased its warning, he said, with French authorities allegedly fearful that Brigitte was in Australia in connection with terrorist-related activity.

According to the Europe 1 radio station, Brigitte had been ordered to go to Australia to shelter another man who was an expert in explosives.

Are there any specific allegations against him? The French judiciary claims that Brigitte may have played a role in the assassination of Afghanistan's former Northern Alliance commander, Ahmed Shah Massoud, days before September 11, 2001. Massoud was killed by a bomb hidden in a French-supplied television camera that was being used by two suicide bombers during a bogus press conference in his Kabul office. A French judicial source told Reuters that Mr Brigitte had been accused of supplying the two Belgian passports used by the assassins, an Algerian and a Tunisian.

How was Brigitte able to stay in Australia? Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Brigitte entered Australia posing as a tourist in May this year. He said that while the Frenchman had spent his entire time in Australia in Sydney, "the precise reason for his presence remains unclear at this stage".

The minister's spokesman said the reason Brigitte had been allowed to remain in Australia for such a long period was because at the time he entered the country, the French had not provided any information on him that raised any concerns.

When was Brigitte arrested? He was arrested on October 9 for breaching his tourist visa, 18 days after French police first warned Australian authorities of his presence in the country. He was taken to Villawood detention centre where he was questioned. He was taken back to France on October 17 for further questioning over terrorist-related offences in that country. He is currently being detained outside Paris by anti-terrorist authorities, according to Australian and French officials.

Has he been charged? Brigitte is under investigation for "belonging to a criminal association in relation to a terrorist undertaking" by France's top anti-terrorist judge after being questioned for four days by officers from the counter-espionage agency, the DST, French officials told AFP.

Mr Ruddock's spokesman said: "He has not been charged under Australian law at this stage, but investigations are continuing."